Melissa Gilbert deletes social media as husband Timothy Busfield faces child sex abuse allegations
- - Melissa Gilbert deletes social media as husband Timothy Busfield faces child sex abuse allegations
Shania RussellJanuary 12, 2026 at 4:17 AM
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Melissa Gilbert and husband Timothy Busfield in 2022
Melissa Gilbert has deactivated her social media accounts after New Mexico authorities issued a warrant for the arrest of her husband, West Wing actor Timothy Busfield.
As of Sunday, the Little House on the Prairie alum's official Instagram and Threads pages are unavailable. The Instagram account for Gilbert's lifestyle brand, Modern Prairie, remains active.
This latest update comes after Albuquerque police issued a warrant for Busfield's arrest, citing two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse.
In the document obtained and reviewed by Entertainment Weekly, Albuquerque police officer Marvin Brown wrote that two child actors, 11-year-old twin brothers who worked with Busfield on the Fox series The Cleaning Lady, alleged that he inappropriately touched them, with one of them claiming that Busfield rubbed his genitals and touched his buttocks on set. One of the minors alleged that the incidents began when he was 7 years old.
Representatives for Busfield and Gilbert have not responded to EW's multiple requests for comment.
VALERY HACHE/AFP via Getty
Melissa Gilbert and husband Timothy Busfield in 2023
Weeks before the warrant was issued, Gilbert addressed the subject of child sexual abuse while condemning Megyn Kelly's incendiary comments about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Responding to the #IWasFifteen social media trend, Gilbert shared photos of herself on the Little House set and wrote, "I debated posting this, but I feel compelled to share. After seeing many women's posts with the hashtags #iwasfifteen #imfifteen #iwasachild, I decided to Google-search myself at that age and see what came up. And this is some of what I found."
Gilbert, who began playing the role of Laura Ingalls Wilder on the show at the age of 10, drew attention to several photos of her embracing and kissing another cast member who was eight years older when they starred as love interests; he was 23 and Gilbert was 15.
"I am actually nauseated," Gilbert continued. "The girl on vacation in Hawaii with her family is the same girl who was expected to 'fall in love with' and kiss a man on film who was several years older than she was. Through the lens of today, this is shocking. I have no words other than to say, 'I WAS A CHILD. I WAS FIFTEEN.'"
She added, "Thank God my mom and [my costar] Michael [Landon] and so many others were there to make sure I was safe."
Gilbert did not allege any inappropriate conduct by her older costar in the photos.
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Busfield directed six episodes of The Cleaning Lady, beginning with the season 2 episode "Sanctuary" in 2022. He also served as an executive producer on the show for 14 episodes and acted in one episode, playing an immigration officer. Fox canceled the series in June 2025.
Steven Ferdman/Getty
Timothy Busfield in New York City in 2020
Warner Bros. Television, the studio that produced The Cleaning Lady, responded to the allegations against Busfield in a statement to EW on Saturday.
"The health and safety of our cast and crew is always our top priority, especially the safety of minors on our productions," a representative said. "We take all allegations of misconduct very seriously and have systems in place to promptly and thoroughly investigate, and, when needed, take appropriate action. We are aware of the current charges against Mr. Busfield and have been and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement."
Busfield faced two prior accusations of sexual assault, per the warrant, neither of which resulted in a criminal charge: one from a 17-year-old extra in 1994 who ultimately settled a lawsuit against the actor, and the other from a 28-year-old woman who accused him of groping her whose case was never prosecuted due to "slim evidence."
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
on Entertainment Weekly
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